Rukuba - Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The staple crops of the Rukuba
are
fonio
(
Digitaria exilis
and D.
iburua
), sorghum, and late millet, the proportion varying from village to
village, according to the quality of soils. Eleusine millet and sesame
are also grown in far lesser quantities. Several species of yam, sweet
potatoes, and cocoyams (
Colocasia
) are important crops. Crop rotation is complicated. The main cereals
are grown on bush farms; sorghum is planted first, for a year or two,
followed by late millet for a year, and by fonio. The land lies fallow
the third and fourth years, but this period may last longer. In manured
fields and gardens, everything can be grown according to household
needs. The Rukuba also plant peppers, okra, cucurbits, Kaffir potatoes,
spinach, red sorrel, beans, climbing beans, groundnuts, Bambara
nuts—all told about twenty-five species. Groundnuts were
introduced in the 1920s and cassava in the 1950s. The former is mainly a
cash crop; however, any of these crops can be sold to feed the permanent
population of the urban and mining camps. Every compound has several
goats (needed for ritual slaughter), dogs (for hunting), and chickens
(for sacrifices); sheep are not widely kept. Some of these animals are
also sold. Horses were numerous in the 1920s; every compound owned one
stallion for hunting purposes. The prevalence of horses has now
drastically diminished. The Rukuba do not keep cattle, nor do they
cultivate textile fibers, given that they formerly went entirely naked,
except for a raffia penis sheath for the men and two bundles of leaves
for the women. Hunting, which is culturally important, does not add
significantly to the diet. Only those living along rivers fish; it is an
occasional activity with no economic importance. Milk is not consumed,
and eggs are almost never eaten.

Industrial Arts.
Formerly, the Rukuba were noted iron smelters, but smelting disappeared
relatively soon after the arrival of the British. A number of
blacksmiths are still operating. Female potters make domestic utensils,
which are sometimes sold to neighboring ethnic groups.

Trade.
There was a small amount of trade with neighboring peoples. Imports
were not necessary, except for salt, which came from Zaria Emirate
through the intermediary of adjacent ethnic groups. Markets were unknown
until the British introduced them. Eastern Rukuba go directly to the Jos
main market to trade but attend the local markets to drink sorghum beer.

Division of Labor.
Men and women both perform agricultural work, but the men do the
heaviest part of the hoeing. Both sexes cultivate the same plants, but
women specialize in groundnuts, Bambara nuts, sweet potatoes, sesame,
eleusine millet, and most pulses. Men cut firewood, but women carry it
home. All meals, except ritual ones, are prepared by women. Men do all
husbandry and hunting. Women fish with small nets; men trap fish. Women
do all basketry; men plait sleeping mats and beer filters and craft all
leatherwork, such as baby carriers and sheaths for swords and knives.
Mortars, pestles, wooden seats, and wooden spoons are carved by
part-time specialists, of which there are only few. Blacksmithing, in
spite of its high prestige, was—and still is—a part-time
occupation. Soothsayers and local medicine men also practice
agriculture.

Land Tenure.
Land passes from father to son(s), women being excluded from land
inheritance because they work on farms allotted to them by their
husbands. Patrilineal people tend to remain together at the same
location generation after generation; if a man has too many sons, land
will be sought from remote patrilateral kin whose family is depleted.
Land can also be borrowed on a short- or long-term basis—or even
bought, from neighbors who have enough farms.

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